Persistence key in powerline fight

By Lachlan Ellis

A senior DELWP member has told locals concerned about the Western Victoria Transmission Network Project (WVTNP) to continue voicing their questions and concerns, while planning is still in progress.

Jack Krohn is Senior Impact Assessor at DELWP, which is responsible for administering the Environmental Effects Statement (EES) process, which the project is currently going through.

On Thursday 11 November, Mr Krohn presented at an online community meeting hosted by Moorabool Shire Council, titled ‘Update on the Environment Effects Statement (EES) process’.

He said the EES that AusNet was currently preparing could take over a year, but the community would have the chance to provide input before a final decision is made on the WVTNP.

“Preparing an EES can take commonly in excess of 18 months. Sometimes we have them still being prepared 3 or 4 years after the [Planning] Minister’s decision that an EES is required,” Mr Krohn said.

“Our [DELWPs] role is to ensure the proponent is able to prepare an appropriate EES. One of the things we do is convene a Technical Reference Group [TRG]…its role is to help us, and the proponent understand the needs of the particular EES.

“The proponent is also responsible for preparing and implementing a Consultation Plan to provide opportunities to inform the community, and receive and respond to community feedback throughout the period of preparing the EES.”

A flow chart was also provided, showing that following the current ‘preparing’ stage is one step before the ‘public review’ stage, where “interested parties can make submissions about the project”.

To read the full story – Simply click on the following link

https://issuu.com/themooraboolnews/docs/mn_2021-11-16/6

in the 16 November 2021 edition
OR
pick up a paper around your town.